We wrap up our review of the last decade for Hillcrest Academy athletics with a look at the 2019-20 school year.
Sophomore Leah Bontrager was again a standout for the Raven runners. After a freshman year that saw her qualify for the state meet in Fort Dodge, she backed that up with an impressive second season. Bontrager posted the highest finish of any area athlete at the Southeast Iowa Superconference Championship meet in Fairfield, taking third place in a time of 21:07 to earn an all-conference spot.
At the class 1A state qualifier meet in Iowa City, it was again Bontrager that came through to carry the banner for the Ravens and all area runners, placing sixth in a time of 21:19 to make her way back to state.
At the state meet, Bontrager placed 67th overall with a time of 21:22. That finish was a 54 second improvement over her freshman year performance and a five place improvement.
The Hillcrest boys basketball team put together an 11-10 season during the past year. The Ravens finished with a 9-7 mark in Superconference play. Their biggest win came at home on Dwight Gingerich Court over Superconference North champion Pekin on December 13th. The Ravens led wire to wire, beating the Panthers 68-54. Eli Ours scored 27 points, 20 of those in the first half. Noah Miller finished with 17, 11 of those in the second half, and Kobe Borntrager had 14. It was the first loss of the season overall for Pekin and their only loss in conference. The Panthers would advance to the substate round of the playoffs.
Hillcrest point guard Eli Ours led the way. The junior scored 18 points per game, best on the team and third in the Superconference. His 78 assists were fifth in the conference. Ours knocked down 50 three point goals during the most recent campaign. That number is ninth all-time in the history of the program for a single season. He was 50 of 142 beyond the arc. Those 50 three pointers were fourth in the Superconference North.
He finished the year with just 66 total turnovers, three per game, placing him 10th in the state for fewest giveaways. He was 12th in Iowa with 78 assists, for those with 66 turnovers or fewer on the year. His 60 steals are eighth in 1A among those in the same category. He is among a group of just eight players across the state to post that set of numbers this season. Of that group of eight, Ours put up 18.1 points per game, third most, trailing just Alex Koppess of Springville at 19.7 ppg and Tyler Peterson of Stanton at 21.6 points per contest. Ours was named to the first team all-Superconference squad and was also an all-substate selection.
It was a big senior season for Kobe Borntrager on the hardwood at Hillcrest Academy. During his final year for the Ravens, he was selected to participate in the Iowa Boys Senior All-Star basketball game. The contest pitted seniors from around southeast Iowa against one another at Burlington Notre Dame High School at an event that included a game, dunk contest and three point contest.
Borntrager led the Superconference, shooting 61.8% from the floor on the year. Better than any other player in the league who attempted at least 100 shots. His 107 made field goals were seventh most in the conference, his 277 total points eighth most, his 14 points per game were ninth best. In conference contests alone, Borntrager saw his numbers rise to 64.5%, sixth best in all of class 1A. He also led the Ravens with 122 rebounds.
Hillcrest Academy head boys basketball coach Dwight Gingerich continues to climb the ladder among the all-time greats in Iowa high school basketball history. Gingerich, who just concluded his 38th season at the helm of Hillcrest Academy/Iowa Mennonite School, has accumulated 683 victories against just 201 losses. His 683 wins are seventh all-time in Iowa and is the most in state history for a coach at a single school. During this season Gingerich passed Jim Eekhoff of Western Christian, and E. Glenn Strobridge of Waterloo West on the all-time list. Among those in the top seven, Gingerich has coached the second fewest number of years to get to that total and holds the second best winning percentage at .772.
The Hillcrest girls basketball program reached a couple of important milestones during their most recent season. The Raven girls were the first athletic team at Hillcrest to win a sporting event under the school’s new name. The name change occurred on July 30th, 2019. The Raven win came on November 26th, 34-28 over Tri-County behind Esther Hughes 18 points and 11 from Yani Gutierrez. While offense was tough to come by at times for the Hillcrest Academy girls basketball team during the most recent season, Gutierrez’ three point shooting was a highlight for the Ravens. She finished with 37 made three pointers on the year, third most in the Superconference North Division. Those 37 three point goals are fifth most all-time in a single season at the school. Gutierrez averaged 11 points per game this season, 10th most in the Superconference North. She was a second team all-conference selection.
That concludes our recap of the last decade for athletics at Hillcrest Academy all of these stories are available on our website at KCIIradio.com.